This invention relates to display devices for various goods including groceries, baked goods and the like, and, more particularly, to a collapsible product display rack assembly especially adapted for assembly and disassembly for storage and transportation. When assembled, the rack assembly provides support and display of food items such as bread loaves and the like and allows convenient movement of the display from place to place in a retail store or other location.
Display equipment for bakery products in a typical grocery store includes a conventional series of stationary shelves or bins into which bread or other baked goods are placed by store personnel from baskets or other containers used to carry the product from a remote storeroom. Replenishing the shelves, therefore, is fairly time consuming, as well as requiring constant surveillance to prevent the shelves or bins from becoming unattractive. Moreover, the product must be displayed in certain specific locations of the store, too often not in an optimum location for attracting attention to specials or other sale items.
Typically, hand carts and other small vehicles have been used to move products from place to place in a grocery and other store However, an alternative to such carts is disclosed in co-pending, commonly assigned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/292,389, filed Dec. 30, 1988, entitled "MOVABLE DISPLAY RACK" invented by Bertram J. Cain. The movable display rack of Ser. No. 07/292,389 is especially adapted to permit loading of products such as bread or other food items in one area of a store followed by wheeled movement of the loaded rack assembly to another store location Thus, various products may be displayed in an organized, pleasing manner which allows convenient access to the goods by the consumer.
The rigid upright display rack of Ser. No. 07/292,389 is permanently welded together As such, because of its size, it is difficult to transport to a retail establishment from a manufacturer and, likewise, is also difficult to store at the retail location when not in use. In addition, in the permanently assembled movable rack, should a shelf assembly or lateral support, axle or the like become damaged or bent while in transit or use, repair and replacement of individual sections is difficult and may often require replacement of the entire assembly.
Therefore, the need was apparent for an improved version of the movable display rack assembly which would allow disassembly for storage and transportation, but would allow quick, simple assembly when desired and/or simplified repair and replacement of various parts as needed, all while retaining the numerous advantages of the movable display rack of Ser. No. 07/292,389.